Court and sparks: Emma Stone and Steve Carell duel in "Battle of the Sexes."

That’s how every tennis match starts out. And at this moment, pop culture is madly in love with the sport, which is showing up all over screens and stages.

Why is everyone courting the game for dramatic potential? Anna Ziegler, author of upcoming play about two tennis greats facing off at the U.S. Open, “The Last Match,” considers that question an easy lob.

"Borg McEnroe," starring Shia LaBeouf (right) and Stellan Skarsgard, focuses on the rivalry between famous tennis players Björn Borg and John McEnroe at the 1980 Wimbledon Championships.

(SF Studios)

“Tennis is already theater,” she tells the Daily News. “Some matches can feel like whole lifetimes. That’s how epic they are."

That includes the one recreated in “Battle of the Sexes,” out Sept. 22. Emma Stone and Steve Carell play tennis stars Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, who faced off in an historic exhibition match in 1973.

In the Swedish biodrama “Borg/McEnroe,” Shia LaBeouf and Stellan Skarsgard relive the 1980s tennis rivalry between the low-key Björn Borg and the hot-tempered John McEnroe.

Playwrights are taking a whack at the sport. Actress-writer Amanda Peet’s new drama, “Our Very Own Carlin McCullough,” revolves around a tennis prodigy facing her future. MCC Theater hosted a reading of the work this week. Ziegler’s “Last Match” begins previews on Sept. 28 at the Laura Pels Theatre.

Sportscaster and former tennis pro Mary Carillo (center) tutored the cast of "The Last Match" in the game of tennis.

(Roundabout)

Meanwhile, Grammy winner Pharrell Williams just released his new tennis collection for Adidas.

Of course, interest in tennis, along with its might, muscle, mind games and metaphor, isn’t brand new. Think of Woody Allen’s 2005 film “Match Point” or Terrence McNally’s Broadway 2007 play “Deuce” and any number of other productions.

The current fascination, however, is intense. Same goes for how actors have been preparing to play tennis on stage or screen.

Tennis togs, anyone? Pharrell Williams (third from right) is game in his tennis line for Adidas.

(Noam Galai/Getty Images for adidas)

Emma Stone put on 15 pounds of lean muscle to play King. To do that she worked out with personal trainer Jason Walsh, who focused on weight training (pushing a 200-pound sled) for strength and cardio interval training (VersaClimber, anyone?) to keep the “La La Land” Oscar winner quick on her feet.

The “Last Match” cast got busy too. “As a tennis fan, and as someone who played a lot growing up, I watch the pros play and wonder what conversations they’re having with themselves at crucial moments in a match,” says Ziegler.

Actress and author Amanda Peet's new play revolves around a tennis prodigy.

(Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

“I wanted to find a way to make a theater into a tennis court,” she adds, “to examine that intensity under a different set of lights that might reveal new things about the game and about why people push themselves to do what they do.”

To prep inside and out, the actors went the U.S. Open with Queens-born sportscaster and tennis pro Mary Carillo, who won the 1977 French Open mixed-doubles title with partner John McEnroe. Carillo knows her way around a tennis court.

Emma Stone (right) with Steve Carell, trained like an athlete for her role as Billie Jean King in "Battle of the Sexes."

(Melinda Sue Gordon)

A rep for the play tells the News that Carillo schooled the actors on how to hold a racket and have the swagger of a tennis player. Carillo also discussed the connection between the heart of the athlete and the actor.